Hillbilly Bone
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Country Weekly | [2] |
| Slant Magazine | [3] |
Hillbilly Bone is the first extended play, and seventh studio release overall, by American country music singer/songwriter Blake Shelton and the first recording by Chris Thomas. It was released on March 2, 2010 (see 2010 in country music) via Warner Music Group Nashville, his first album under its Reprise label. Its only single is the title track, a duet with Trace Adkins which was released to radio in November 2009. This song reached Number One on the U.S. Billboard country singles charts in April 2010.
Content
The album's title track, which features a guest vocal from Trace Adkins, was released in October 2009 as the lead-off single.[4] One month prior to the EP's release, this song reached the country Top 10 and in March it became his sixth Number One. The track "Kiss My Country Ass" was co-written and previously released by Rhett Akins.[5] Shelton wrote the song "Delilah" about a dog owned by Miranda Lambert, his then-girlfriend, later-wife and now-ex-wife.[5] Shelton told Country Weekly magazine that this project is part of an experiment to release three extended plays a year, so that he can offer his fans more material per year "for a bargain price."[5]
Critical reception
Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly, Thom Jurek of Allmusic and Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine all gave the EP three stars out of five. Phillips wrote that it "finds Blake Shelton coming into his own when it comes to song selection." She also called "Delilah" the strongest-written track on it.[2] Jurek called its material "formula contemporary country" and said that the label's decision to release multiple EPs instead of an album was "risky."[1] Jonathan Keefe criticized the "compressed" production and the lyrics of "Hillbilly Bone" and "Kiss My Country Ass," but commended the recording for having a common theme among its songs.[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hillbilly Bone" (duet with Trace Adkins) | Luke Laird, Craig Wiseman | 3:44 |
| 2. | "Kiss My Country Ass" | Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Jon Stone | 4:14 |
| 3. | "You'll Always Be Beautiful" | Lee Brice, Jerrod Niemann, Stone | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Can't Afford to Love You" | Akins, Ben Hayslip, Jimmy Yeary | 3:24 |
| 5. | "Delilah" | Blake Shelton | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Almost Alright" | Clint Lagerberg, Wiseman | 3:10 |
Personnel
- Trace Adkins- vocals on "Hillbilly Bone"
- Tom Bukovac- electric guitar
- Perry Coleman- background vocals
- Eric Darken- percussion
- Connie Ellisor- violin
- Paul Franklin- pedal steel guitar
- Aubrey Haynie- fiddle
- Charlie Judge- synthesizer strings
- Bersy Lamb- viola
- Troy Lancaster- electric guitar
- Brent Mason- electric guitar
- Greg Morrow- drums, percussion
- Gordon Mote- Hammond B-3 organ, piano
- Carole Rabinowitz- cello
- Blake Shelton- lead vocals
- Pam Sixfin- violin
- Jimmie Lee Sloas- bass guitar
- Ron Sorbo- steel drums
- Bryan Sutton- banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin
- Craig Wiseman- drum loop, electric guitar
- Jennifer Zuffinetti- background vocals
Chart performance
The album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums, and number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 71,000 copies in its first week of release.[6]
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 3 |
End of year charts
| Chart (2010) | Year-end 2010 |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 155[7] |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 27[8] |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN | ||
| 2009 | "Hillbilly Bone" (with Trace Adkins) | 1 | 40 | 84 |
References
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Hillbilly Bone review". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ a b Phillips, Jessica (8 March 2010). "Album reviews". Country Weekly. 17 (10): 54. ISSN 1074-3235.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Keefe, Jonathan (8 March 2010). "Hillbilly Bone review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ Price, Deborah Evans (2010-01-12). "Blake Shelton "Hillbilly Bone" preview". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ a b c Tucker, Ken (8 March 2010). "Same as He Ever Was: Blake Shelton hasn't changed, but he has become more comfortable with who he is and where he's going". Country Weekly. 17 (10): 36–40. ISSN 1074-3235.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/959073/lady-antebellum-returns-to-no-1-on-billboard-200
- ^ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ^ "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.